York Free School campaign

[Freeschoolmum]

Hi, I'm new here.
I am a mum in York with two kids (5&1) and I'm involved with the York Free School campaign. We are a completely non-political group working to set up a new secondary school in the Holgate area of York (hopefully on the site of the disused railway workers' canteen near The Fox Inn). The key motivation for wanting a new school here is to add choice. At the moment 25% of children in Holgate don't get their first choice of secondary school.
If it goes ahead the school will be small, 200 students in classes of 20. It will be totally inclusive - no religious, academic or financial hoops to jump through. It will offer a supportive environment for all children including those with special educational needs. We have set ourselves the high target of 75% of pupils gaining 5 GCSEs at grades A*-C. We are also placing a strong emphasis on community involvement and learning outside the classroom for the students.
Have a look at our website www.yorkfreeschool.org.uk/ and if it sounds like the sort of school you might be interested in sending your child to, register your interest online.

I tried to look at your website but can't get it to work, either via your link or via Google, so I think it may be down at the moment.

Thanks for trying to look. The link is working when I click it. Have another go.

Freeschoolmum, I read this a while ago and it interested me because we managed to get DD2 into the school that is mentioned in the article after an appeal. It was a horrible time for all of us and I guess you must have known people in a similar position. There were 40 appeals for that school last year.

Anyway, I didn't post because I didn't have anything to add, really (DDs are both in secondary now) but then I came across this on the BBC website:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-12004741

...which suggests that 1300 new homes might be built near the school. Where would those children go to school? I expect you knew already, but I thought I'd post it because it makes a strong argument for better educational provision in that part of York.

Best of luck with your campaign.